Talk:World History Lecture Ten

From Conservapedia

Earlier the abolition movement, which was motivated mostly by Christianity rather than by non-Christian reform movements, wiped out slavery and slave trade worldwide by 1888.

There was a slave market at Taif, about 40 miles outside Mecca, which was not shut down until 1962. ([1] and footnote-18) People who came from all over the world on their journey to Mecca but didn't have the fare for a round trip often fell afoul of the local authorities once the festivities ended. A penniless pilgrim from far away may resort to stealing food for example, which would end up placing him on the auction block at Taif. And a rich pilgrim, before returning home could pick up a bargain-basement wife or man slave at Taif before departing. This is a line of investigation I've been following for some time, as it appears the Saudi regime agreed to ending this millenium-plus old Islamic practice in exchange for increased cooperation with the West, but it's difficult to find a source document with the exact language for closing the slave market.

Upon deeper investigation what is revealed is the trip to Mecca has long been a cover for the worldwide slave trade, and may infact still be practiced to some extent. Islamic societies did not build jails or prisons. Local troublemakers, and the "shiftless unemployed", so to speak, were often sold to slave caravans making the journey to Mecca where the highest prices could be commanded.

Bin Laden's anger at the West is in large part due to Islamic regimes, such as the House of Saud, caving in to Western pressures and breaking long held Islamic traditions and Islamic societies methods of dealing with common social problems. RobS 15:31, 11 March 2007 (EDT)

Preliminary corrections

I might make a thorough and detailed list if I have time, but upon glancing through the part on Africa so far I have picked up on two aspects that stood out to me, both rather minor:

The explorer's name is David Livingstone not Livingston as it is listed on at least one occasion.

The suggestion that the Nile is unusual in flowing north is rather ambiguous. This idea that it is unusual is simply due to human perception, in that modern maps have north at the top and so it seems counter-intuitive that 'up river' would be 'down south'.

A World War I Thought

This is a thought I've had on the Great War; feel free to use it if you like. While the war itself was dull from a military standpoint, it was of immense political importance. World War I was a huge factor in the Russian Revolution, which, of course, led to Soviet Communism. Further, the conditions that Germany was left in after World War I were a key factor in the ride to power of Hitler and Nazism. (I think that there probably would have been some kind of Russian Revolution without World War I, though the results might have been radically different. I doubt Hitler could have risen to power if Germany wasn't left in abysmal shape after the war.) I'd argue that the two great international conflicts of the 20th Century were World War II and the Cold War. Nazi Germany was a key player in World War II (Japan gets "credit" too, of course), and Soviet Russia was, similarly, a key player in the Cold War. Thus, the two great conflicts of the 20th Century were largely defined by nations that, arguably, would not have existed if not for World War I. I realize this is pretty simplistic, but I'm sure you could expand on it. ArthurA 11:04, 25 March 2009 (EDT)

Time Line

I'm a little bit irritated by the time line. You write England attempted to hide and conceal the secrets of its industrial revolution from continental Europe, but the revolution spread anyway. The first European nation to follow England was Belgium in 1807, then France in 1848, and then Germany in 1870.
How do you get these precise dates for the beginning of the industrial revolution in the different nations? The one for Germany seems to be wrong: for instance, the steel foundry of the Krupps was founded in 1810.

Could you share your sources?

The Red Cross society was founded in Switzerland by Jean Henri Dunant, and was used in America during the Civil War.

The Red Cross was established in 1863. I'm under the impression that the great Clara Barton started to organize the American chapter in the 1870th, that is, after (and under the impression of) the Civil War.

Technology and Marconi

The lecture currently states the Marconi invented the radio where as even the Supreme Court stated in June of 1943 (Marconi Wireless Telegraph co. of America v. United States) that Nikola Tesla was the inventor the the radio. WillB 15:34, 31 March 2009 (EDT)

Malaria

I realize that this lecture has come and gone, but this could be corrected for next year. This is nitpicky, but "Malaria was historically a problem in Africa (and still is today), but the antidote quinine was discovered that immunized Europeans against contracting it." is not entirely accurate. Quinine is a treatment for malaria (although many strains are now resistant) and can be given preemptively to help prevent contraction of the disease, but it is not an antidote and it doesn't immunize people, and if it did, it wouldn't be just Europeans (I don't think you mean to imply that, but it comes across). A more accurate statement would be: "Malaria was historically a problem in Africa (and still is today), but the discovery of quinine, which can be used for both the prevention of and treatment of malaria, made European activity in Africa possible." Corry 10:21, 16 April 2009 (EDT)

Christianity in India

I've added a paragraph about this, inspired by the erroneous statement that the British introduced Christianity into India. Please move it to a different place if it disturbs the flow of the text where it is. JosephMac 20:37, 24 April 2009 (EDT)

In technology, the Industrial Revolution began using iron and steel as basic resources, and developed energy sources such as electricity, oil and the steam engine.

What kind of energy is the steam engine? And it should be coal, oil, and electricity, as this is the historical sequence! And a whole lecture on the industrial revolution with only a passing mentioning of the steam-engine, and no mention at all of the locomotive?